Is closure of open skin wounds in rats accelerated by argon laser exposure?

The influence of linearly polarized argon laser irradiation (lambda = 488 nm and 514.5 nm) on the closure time of standardized open skin wounds was measured in rats. In two separate controlled experiments no acceleration of wound closure by laser irradiation was observed. In the first experiment the wounds were cleaned during the laser treatment period at 1 J/cm2. The second experiment at 4 J/cm2 was without mechanical wound cleaning. The contradictory results reported in the literature and possible influences of wavelength, energy density, and power density are discussed.